Rainbow Coalition Not Threat To APC – Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed concerns that the Rainbow Coalition supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election could create divisions within the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the initiative is aimed at mobilising support across party lines.

Wike said the coalition was designed to bring together APC members and supporters of the President from other political parties to advance Tinubu’s second-term ambition ahead of the 2027 general election.

Speaking during a live media parley in Abuja on Tuesday, the minister explained that the arrangement was not intended to weaken the ruling party but to provide a platform for people outside the APC to contribute to the President’s re-election campaign.

He said the reference to PBT/APC represented the collaboration between APC members and non-members who support Tinubu.

“If you see that word, PBT/APC, it means those who are supporting the president who are not members of the party, together with the party, are working together to achieve that purpose,” he said.

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Wike, who coordinates the coalition’s activities in Rivers State and the FCT, said the initiative was focused on a common political objective, regardless of the different affiliations of its members.

“The major thing is Mr President. Whatever we do, anyone with an idea or anything to contribute is contributing to Mr President’s success. That is the whole thing,” he said.

The former Rivers State governor also rejected suggestions that the coalition could unsettle APC governors or fuel internal divisions within the party.

“I don’t know what concerns there are. As far as I am concerned, there is no problem,” he said.

Using the FCT as an example, Wike recalled appealing to political stakeholders in the territory to support Tinubu and APC candidates for the National Assembly while allowing supporters of other parties to make their choices at other levels.

He said the approach reflected the need to accommodate the political peculiarities of different states while working towards a shared goal.

According to the minister, supporting Tinubu’s re-election does not require people who belong to other political parties to abandon their affiliations.

He argued that political leaders must be able to persuade people with different interests to cooperate when they share a common objective, adding that cross-party collaboration was not new to Nigerian politics.

Wike said the coalition’s central objective was to secure Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, urging Nigerians to assess the President’s performance on its merits rather than allow party affiliations to determine their positions.